Lincolnshire sausages with red onion gravy and thyme and Gouda polenta

by Paul Warburton on 06 May 2010  |  2 comments
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Check out this amazing recipe for Lincolnshire sausages with red onion gravy and thyme and Gouda polenta – for £1.10 per person!

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Lincolnshire sausages with red onion gravy and thyme and Gouda polenta (Serves 4)

This is real comfort food with a slightly more elegant twist on the standard mash offering we so often see in gastro pubs around the country – polenta can be pretty boring on its own and really benefits from the cheese and fresh herbs. You can use any sausages really; Toulouse or Cumberland would be great if you wish to stretch the £1.50 per person budget.

Ingredients

• 8 Lincolnshire sausages (£1.83)
• 500g of Dunn’s fine polenta (44p)
• 200g of Gouda (86p)
• 25g of fresh lemon thyme (67p)
• 4 large red onions (60p)

The cupboard staples…

Salt, black pepper, butter, Lea and Perrin’s sauce and 2 chicken stock cubes.

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at ASDA where it came to £4.40 - that's £1.10 per head!

Instructions

• The gravy needs at least an hour so make this first. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan and add the finely sliced onions. Let them soften down on a very low heat for around 30 minutes until you get a nice caramelised brown colour. Once browned add 1 ½ pints of chicken stock and a few dashes of Lea and Perrin’s, along with some salt and lots of black pepper – reduce for another 30 minutes on a low simmer and the gravy will be ready.
• Whilst the gravy is reducing down, get the sausages under the grill and cook as you usually would. You could always pan fry if you feel that way inclined. Keep warm once cooked, ready for serving.
• Now the polenta – get 2 pints of water in a large pan and up to the boil. Now slowly add (in a nice even stream) 500g of polenta and keep stirring as you add the polenta. Keep stirring until nice and smooth. Now add 2 tablespoons of butter, 200g of grated Gouda and the finely chopped fresh thyme. Keep stirring on a low heat for a further 6 minutes until it thickens. Season to taste before serving. Serve in the traditional way!
• Happy eating!

A bit about the Frugal Recipes chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Friday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

"We enjoyed this recipe very much: easy to make and even easier to eat!" varneyrob

“Thanks Paul, another great tasting easy recipe. It was my first risotto attempt ever and it was great, I even impressed my in-laws with it. Many thanks...” welshlady

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" Malcolm Wheatley

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

"Another delicious offering from Paul. Thank you - keep 'em coming!" Palefire

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other Frugal Recipes:   Beef enchiladas with a lime sour cream | Slow roasted duck legs and charlotte potatoes with a carrot and cumin salad | Paella | Asparagus and gruyere tart with new potatoes | Haddock fishcakes with radish and watercress salad and lemon crème fraiche dressing | Prawn and pea risotto Honey roasted gammon and apples with champ | Hot chocolate fondants with crème Chantilly | Shin of beef, kidney and ale pie Tandoori chicken with coconut rice & mint raita | Homemade gnocchi with a tomato & thyme sauce, spinach and ricotta  | Frugal Pancakes | Griddled black pudding, chimichurri mash and caramelised apples  | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice  | Lamb koftas with a feta, mint and chickpea salad & chilli grilled pittas  | Pork, rosemary and white bean ravioli with a chilli tomato sauce  | Sausage & leek casserole with parsley dumpings | Pork, chorizo & cannellini bean stew | Rabbit, bacon & thyme pie | Potato rosti with creamed spinach and poached egg | Pumpkin and sage risotto | Slow braised oxtail with autumn mash | Spiced whole mackerel with chickpea salad | Twice cooked belly pork (with gravy) parsnips and sweet apple red cabbage | Roasted pheasant | Portobello mushroom, port and stilton wellington | Lemon tart with fresh vanilla mascarpone | Massaman curry |  Smoked mackerel pate on crostini and red onion confit  |Rolled breast of lamb with garlic mash and Savoy cabbage | Lemon & rosemary chicken thighs |  Thai Pollock curry with egg noodles | Chunky pea and ham soup| Spaghetti alla carbonara | Pork stroganoff | Green chilli meat balls, sunflower seed couscous salad and mint yoghurt |  Tagliatelle with air dried cured ham and minted peas | Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice | Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne |  Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Beef & thyme (Lancashire) hotpot

Remember, if you're registered on lovemoney.com, you can follow this blog and find new posts as soon as they are published, via your personal homepage. Never miss a frugal recipe again - register now.